UNDERSTANDING THE

REGULATIONS:

What Alaskan Foster Parents

Need to Know

#6

FOSTER PARENT TRAINING

1.0 Hour Training Credit

Written and Produced by:

The Alaska Center for Resource Families

1-800-478-7307

Funded by the State of Alaska

Office of Children's Services

UNDERSTANDING THE REGULATIONS:

What Alaskan Foster Parents Need to Know

Under the foster care regulations, foster parents are required to complete a certain amount of training each year. This self-study states the training requirements for foster parents and offers ideas of how to get and record your training.

WHY DO I NEED TRAINING? I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO RAISE CHILDREN!

 The children that are coming into foster care are affected more and more with complex behaviors, abuse neglect delinquency and drug affects. Foster children often times have more difficult behaviors than your own children may have had and training keeps foster parents up to date with skills to address these difficult behaviors. It is also recognized that foster parents are playing more of a professional role than they have in the past. You are often more than a parent, you are a counselor, a team player and case manager. The training requirement is similar to the continuing education required of teachers, nurses, social workers and doctors.

WHAT DO THE REGULATIONS SAY ABOUT TRAINING?

All licensed foster homes in Alaska are required to have training each year. A foster home with a single parent needs 10 hours of training each year. A two parent foster home needs 15 hours a year shared between the parents. Each foster parent is required to have at least 5 hours of training a year. That means that one foster parent can have 10 hours of training and the other can have 5 hours of training. This home would have completed their training requirements. Applicants need to attend the orientation or pre-service training that is required in your area.

Training hours are “clock hours.” That means that if you go to a 2-hour class, you receive 2 hours of training credit. Foster parents may choose training that best fits their interest and the type of children they care for. Accepted training includes education that helps in caring for the children who come into your home. Following is a list of sample topics that would be acceptable for foster parent training.

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR FOSTER PARENT TRAINING

Foster parents can get their training in many ways. Training can be obtained from classes sponsored/taught by the Alaska Center for Resource Families, or attending classes taught by the Office of Children's Services, or attending classes sponsored by other agencies. Participating in individualized training around a child’s special needs, attending parent education classes offered by schools, attending support or education groups, or self-study training with the Alaska Center for Resource Families. 

Foster parents may also undergo informal training such as material covered at meetings, watching a video, reading a book, or individual training with Infant Learning Program staff. These informal training’s must be documented in writing. Documentation should include the date, subject, method of training and the name of the person who conducted the training. If books are read or a video is viewed, foster parents can get credit by filling out a report sheet available through the Alaska Center for Resource Families.

 Foster parents should document their training for review with their licensing worker. The Alaska Center for Resource Families can assist foster parents in recording and obtaining their training.

ASSISTANCE WITH TRAINING

 The Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF) is here to help foster parents obtain training that will help with the particular needs of their foster children. ACRF has a self-study library, which includes books, courses, and videos. ACRF also sponsors classroom training. The Alaska Center for Resource Families has a library of hundreds of hours of self-study materials that can be mailed free of charge. To get the self-study catalog of available materials or to set up training that is right for you, contact ACRF at 1-800-478-7307.

Foster parents are responsible for reporting all training to the Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF). Training and self-study done through ACRF is automatically recorded. Contact ACRF to report any training from sources other than the Alaska Center for Resource Families. A printable form (Training Information Sheet) to report training is linked in this self-study. ACRF reports all completed training to your licensing representative on a quarterly basis.

 ACRF can send you a copy of all the training that you have reported to them. If you would like a copy of your training record, call ACRF at 1-800-478-7307 or 479-7307 in the Fairbanks area. The Alaska Center for Resource Families has three regional offices. These include:

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